Dawgs defeat Sacred Heart for first five set victory of the season

SMITHFIELD, R.I.– The Bryant women's volleyball team concluded Hispanic Heritage Night with a five set victory on Wednesday at the Chace Athletic Center. Before tonight, the Bulldogs were 0-4 in matches that went the distance

GAME INFORMATION

Bryant, Sacred Heart (25-11, 23-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-5)

Records: Bryant (15-9, 3-2), Sacred Heart (8-11, 7-0) 

Location: Chace Athletic Center

COACH GARLACY'S COMMENTS

"It's always great to beat Sacred Heart. Our opposites and middles were so efficient. The setters made great decisions and created a lot of one on ones which we capitalized on. A huge team effort with great energy and a huge opportunity to prepare us for Sunday's match versus UMBC."

HOW IT HAPPENED (vs Sacred Heart)

• Set 1- Bryant held a comfortable 8-2 lead at the start of the match thanks to 3 early kills from Aubrey Lapour. They would continue to keep Sacred Heart at a safe distance for the remainder of the set and eventually put it out of reach with back-to-back kills from Morgan Smith and Arianna Ugolini. The Bulldogs would win the set 25-11 with Aubrey Lapour posting 5 kills and Josie Deluga recording 2 aces. 

• Set 2- The Pioneers would find their way in the second set and would contest Bryant the entire way. A 4-4 tie would be broken by a Nina Gavin kill and see the Black and Gold go on a 5-0 run. However SHU would not falter and managed to make a comeback and even the set once again at 15. After exchanging leads Sacred Heart's, Cristina Montanez would land a kill to put the Pioneers ahead for good. Bryant would fall in the set 25-23. Arianna Ugolini recorded 5 kills in the second and Carrina Barron landed 2 aces and had 4 digs. 

• Set 3- The Bulldogs would get back into rhythm in the third set by capitalizing on SHU's early mistakes and a kill from Brookelyn Talmadge. They would then go on to see a great offensive output from Morgan Smith, who hit 1.000 in the set with 3 kills, as well as Talmadge who added another 3 kills to her set total. The Dawgs would close out the set in style as Josie Deluga landed yet another service ace to make the final score 25-17.

• Set 4- The 4th set saw momentum swing back towards Sacred Heart as the Bulldogs found themselves in a quick 7-2 hole. They would manage to rally and even the score up at 13 a piece. The Black and Gold established a lead of the own, holding a 3 point advantage as the set drew to a close but SHU would battle back and force a fifth set following a Camryn Luginbuhl kill. The score would end up being 25-21 in favor of the Pioneers. Lapour and Ugolini would combine for 10 kills and Carolina Camacho would have 7 assists.

• Set 5- After starting the 5th set 2-2. The Bulldogs would go on an 8-0 run to help put them in position for their first 5 set victory of the year. Brookelyn Talmadge and Morgan Smith each would post 2 kills for Bryant and Josie Deluga would land another 2 aces to help Bryant go the distance and pick a 15-5 set victory and win the match 3-2.

STATS

• Aubrey Lapour led the way for Bryant in the match with 18 kills.

• London Hunt hit .667 for the Black and Gold with 8 kills and 5 blocks.

• Josie Deluga posted a team high 5 aces on the evening.

• Brookelyn Talmadge had double-digit kills for the Bulldogs and collected 3 blocks.

• Morgan Smith hit .538 for Bryant with 8 kills and 3 blocks.

MATCH NOTES

• Carolina Camacho records a double-double for the for the second consecutive match with 26 assists and 13 digs.

• Madison Koeller posted 20+ assists for the 5th time in her career. (24 vs SHU).

• The Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run in the 5th set to help secure the victory.

UP NEXT

Bryant will travel to Catonsville, Maryland this weekend to take on UMBC for a conference match on Sunday at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena .